Policies, plans and proposals seem to be coming thick and fast these days and it's hard to keep up..
For example, changes in education, welfare, housing.. ( things that affect the majority of people the most, also seem to be the things that most people have little say over, or knowledge of)
Still... today on the news it was reported that a council is 'exploring ' a policy to evict people who fail to find jobs ( In a recession at a time when jobs are scarce)
You can read about it.. here
I think that everyone should be concerned about this ..
Also, it's worth considering the stats, that black people are historically and factually less likely to be offered jobs ( especially well paying jobs.. for a variety of reasons.. I'll be fair and say one reason could be that they lack the necessary qualifications.. but we'd then have to ask.. why?)..and as a result this policy (if it goes ahead) could impact on BME's the most. Which is not only racist, but could also be described (unfortunately) as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Last year, there were murmurs of excitement over that little known 'Localism Bill' which at the time was sold to 'us'as putting more power into the hands of local residents with regards to what happens in their communities..
(That was the common soundbite anyway)
What has happened to that?
If anyone knows how local people can use the Localism bill.. I'd love to know..
I think now more than ever, it may be time for residents to talk to local councilors..( and visa versa) in the hope of fair representation, as the bill has definitely given more power to someone.. but it doesn't seem to be local residents.. I'm not great at maths.. but ( nowadays) more power to someone.. means less power to someone else
Thankfully and hopefully, not all councils will adopt this stance..
However, a question worth asking is.. why.. if one knows the potentially devastating outcome of a policy..( and the impact it could have on certain groups) why..would you want to push it though..? What is the motivation behind it?
and ..are the councillors representative of the community?.. what community?
why? neoliberal capitalist mindset dawna, or disaster capitalism as it's also known. Nothing like a nice recession to push through crap unchallenged policy. its like everything gets placed in this market-weighted framework. poor and unproductive? move to the suburbs. need child care? we are scrapping sure start so pay for your own. want school? only if you can afford it. its a sin to be poor in such environments. I benefited from local council housing at a time I was unemployed and can vouch strongly for its merits. would probably be called a sponger today
ReplyDeletetypically such policies get wrapped in wooly tory-speak with words and phrases like "fairness", "localism" and "big society" bandied about. but how can one stake a place in society where one has no equity? where one is unprotected from market forces that bear no resemblance to reality?
F*#@k!?!
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